Small diameter and curving arteries, such as the internal carotid artery, the posterior, middle or anterior cranial arteries, or the Circle of Willis are challenging pathways through which to advance a guidewire or catheter. When a wire guide—especially a small diameter, highly flexibly-tipped wire guide—encounters a right angle bend in an artery, advancing it further usually leads to its bowing outward from the bend and not advancing through the artery. Also, cerebral arteries are very tortuous and have thinner and weaker walls than other arteries. Thus, cerebral arteries present the risk of possible arterial wall perforation during vascular intervention.
Previously, guidewire tip curvature could be formed and changed only by removing the guidewire and reshaping it by hand. This increases the cost and complexity associated with an interventional procedure. Thus, there exists a need for a guidewire that can be steered through tortuous and small arteries without the need to remove the guidewire and reshape its tip.